


Gold, Blue And Pink

by Andian



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Empathy, Get Together, M/M, Secret Power
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-17
Updated: 2015-04-17
Packaged: 2018-03-23 08:03:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3760810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andian/pseuds/Andian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being able to see what other people feel should make this easier, Sidney sometimes thinks. It really doesn't though.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gold, Blue And Pink

It should be easy to understand people for Sidney. After all he is currently watching Giroux and he is hearing the bland restrain behind the even blander explanation for the Flyer's loss against them. But he can also see him. Deep red splotching all around Giroux, concentrating on his mouth and hands, wild crackling that seems to encase the other man like a cloud, so huge that Sidney almost wonders why none of the reporters step away.

But well, there lies the problem, doesn't it. They can't see the way he can. 

“Sid, you coming?” Flower calls out and Sidney hurries towards his team, away from the angry everything that Giroux currently is. Flower is different shades of blue when he smiles at Sidney. A light blue Sidney has learned to connect with content and gratitude and a darker one that means exhaustion. He's glad to see that the lighter blue outweighs the dark one tonight.

“Coming out tonight?” Flower ask, a hint of purple suddenly appearing at his left ear. Sidney stares at is suspiciously for a moment before forcing his look back to Flower's eyes.

“Yeah, I think so,” he says, and wonders immediately how big a mistake that had been when he sees Flower's grin widen and the purple spreading almost entirely over the left half of his face.  
“Good, Geno said the entire team is going to buy you shots. Once for every goal.”  
And Sidney realizes that he really should have been more wary about the purple.

 

He does not regret the hat trick he got today. “One more, Sidney, come on, you're not even halfway through the first round,” somebody, Paulie maybe, he doesn't really care at this point, says. He probably will tomorrow though. Or rather his head will. He still reaches for the glass somebody has put in front of him though, because it's free and he really did play well today. When the taste of vodka hits his throat he tries not to grimace cause he thinks he knows who gave him the glass and for sure, he sees Geno smiling at him when he looks up.

“Why, you know I don't like vodka,” Sidney whines and Geno grin just widens, orange spreading from his throat, forming patterns like a spider net. Sidney stares at it, too drunk not to. It's pretty. Naturally it's also mean because now he really know that Geno is inwardly congratulating himself on getting Sidney drunk enough to drink vodka in the first place.

“You dick,” Sidney says, punching Geno in the arm. “Ouch, mean captain,” Geno complains, his grin and the amused light yellow dots around him a direct contradiction to his words. It's not the blinding shots of pure and unchecked gold that Sidney saw during Geno's own goal today but it's still nice and Sidney can feel himself smiling.

“And now laughing at me! Should tell press how mean Captain really is,” Geno slides into the bench next to him, his body relaxed and loose, probably having done almost as many shots as Sidney tonight. Another glass appears in front of him and Sidney takes that back when he reaches for it with a groan. Nobody has done as many shots as he had tonight.  
He is not quite sure what he is drinking but its green and seems to burn even more after he has downed it, if that's even possible.

Sidney suppresses a wince, closing his eyes and leaning back for a moment. The world is spinning slightly around him, the kind of slightly that means that he is only a few more shots away from slightly turning into nauseating fast. The darkness centers him, a bit at least and also it's warm and soft and smells nice and...

“Sleeping Sid?” And sounds a lot like a very amused Geno. With great effort Sidney forces his eyes open, only to see more darkness. Looking up, the darkness turns into Geno's eyes, looking at him with a soft expression and Sidney realizes that he has somehow buried himself into Geno's shoulder.  
“Ugh,” he says and dimly wonders if he is drunk enough to justify just not moving to himself in the morning. Probably not. He forces himself up, moving a bit away from Geno and the tempting heat and softness of his shoulder.

“Ugh,” he then says again because it seems to have worked the first time. Geno smiles at him amused and Sidney rolls his eyes. 

“Was the stupid vodka,” he mumbles, proud of himself that it doesn't come out half as slurred as he would have expected. Though it probably also isn't half as comprehensible as it had been in is head. “So it's all your fault,” Sidney concludes because Geno was the one who gave him the vodka after all, right? Geno laughs loudly at that and Sidney sees little stars of orange and gold and pink exploding around him like a sparkler. It's pretty damn beautiful but so are all of Geno's emotions, even those times when it's clouds of angry red with shaky strokes of black desperation and the muddy gray of sadness.

Happy emotions fit him best though, Sidney thinks and before he can stop himself he has reached out to touch the colors.

Geno stops laughing, eyes him curiously and maybe a bit worried. “Everything okay, Sid? Maybe a bit too much?” “No,” Sidney says. “Yes,” he corrects a few moments later. I just wanted to touch your feelings because they are so pretty, he doesn't add because no matter how fast the world is currently spinning around him, he hopefully will never be drunk enough for this confession. Yellow and orange turn into brown and Sidney really didn't want to worry Geno. 

“Think I'll go home,” he says quickly and Geno nods, his relief a soft beige.“Get you to taxi,” he says and Sidney wants to shake his head, tell him that it's okay, he isn't that drunk but when he gets out of the booth after Geno he stumbles and it's only Geno's hand around his waist -soft, warm, big- that keeps him from falling down. So, he suppose Geno might have a point.  
“Sid such a lightweight, would fall and not get up till morning.”  
He'd be damned before he told him that though.

 

As expected he does regret in the morning. He regrets a lot but at least they have a few days off before their next game so it will leave him with more than enough time to get over his regret. And hopefully the hangover. He sits at his kitchen table and stares into his coffee, wondering if he should just drown himself in it to end the pain in his head already. The buzzing of his phone interrupts his musing and he is greeted by one of Geno's usual text messages, consisting more of brackets than actual understandable sentences.

 _Yeah, I'm awake_ , Sid still writes back. _Had fun yesterday?_  
_Send pics, didn't see???_ is Geno's immediate answer and Sidney frowns slightly before noticing that Geno did in fact send him a few pictures last night. Most of them are a blurry whirl of faces and pictures of more alcohol Sidney tries to not look at too close for the sake of his stomach. There is one picture at the end that makes him stop scrolling. It's a terrible angle, Geno's face way too close to the camera, filling the screen up almost completely while he looks up with an exaggerated pout. There is a buzz, signaling another message.  
_Should have stayed, boring without you (((((_

Sidney can't help the soft smile spreading over his face. He hesitates briefly but there is still enough alcohol left, for him to embarrass himself so he takes a picture of himself, mimicking Geno's expression and sends it before he can think better of it.

 _Want to go get lunch with me?_ The thought of a whole bunch of greasy food and Geno to start of a free day makes him smile even more.  
_We can try that restaurant Tanger has been talking about._  
_Steelers today!!! ((((((_  
Sidney frowns, weighting the pros of cons of what he knows he is going to write back anyway.  
_I can come to your house?_  
The answer is immediate.  
_)))))) bring eggs, don't have!_  
Sidney laughs out loud at that.  
_Who says I'll cook for you?_ He types back while standing up to check if he needs to buy some more eggs.  
_Maybe cook for you! Don't know. Have to keep well-feed!_  
Sidney is torn between helpless fondness at the though of Geno cooking for him and slightly worry since he'd probably do it while trying to watch the game and Geno's ability to multitask do not extend to the kitchen.  
_Pass_ , he answers, _but you'll wash up_.  
_))))) Will do! So nice, Sid! Best!_  
There is a kind of contentment and happiness Sidney feels when he reads the last part that would be blue and golden and probably pink on anybody. But Sidney supposes that just feeling it has to be enough.

 

Geno doesn't look as bad as he should after a night spend partying when he opens the door. Sidney spends a moment being jealous of his alcohol tolerance as he steps into the house when he smells something absolutely heavenly coming from the kitchen.

“You made bacon,” he says, almost moaning at the thought. Geno grins at him, orange spreading lazily around him but with enough content blue to make Sidney smile back. There are also spots of pink and Sidney quickly turns away to open the fridge.

“I got eggs, you want onions or bell pepper in your omelet?” Geno makes a considering noise. “Both,” he then decides, sounding determined before stepping towards the pan with the bacon. Sidney pats his hands away. “You're going to miss the start of the game, just let me take care of it.” 

More pleased blue and the usual lightning of gold and another wide smile as Geno makes his way into the living room. Sidney gets started on the omelets, the smell of bacon getting more and more tempting with every passing second. Sidney inwardly congratulates himself on his iron will and rewards himself with some of the bell peppers he is cutting. It's vegetables, it therefore doesn't really count as snacking. When the omelets and the bacon are finally finished he loads up two plates with the food, balancing them as he makes his way into the living room to the couch where Geno is sitting, eyes glued on the events on the screen.

Without looking away Geno makes a grabbing motion for one of the plates and Sidney rolls his eyes, considering pulling it away for a moment. He is rather hungry himself though so he just pushes the plate into Geno's hand before sitting down next to him. It actually makes Geno turn towards him for a moment. “Thank you,” he says and smiles and Sidney is met with an almost blinding combination of gold and blue and pink. He suddenly desperately wants to kiss Geno.  
He quickly stuffs bacon into his mouth instead. It only makes the pink shine so much brighter and Sidney is truly fucked. 

“You're welcome,” he answers belatedly, staring at the television. There is stuff happening that is probably of great interest and importance but Sidney is so focused on his food that the players could have started playing naked and he'd probably would have just continued eating. Geno's is a bit more into the game, though he stills spends a lot of his attention on shoveling as much of his omelet as quickly into his mouth as possible. The attention not currently spend making annoyed sounds at some of the things happening on the screen or his food is spend punching Sidney's shoulder every time something exciting happens. 

There is a lot of exciting stuff happening it seems because Sidney can't feel his shoulder anymore after roughly five minutes. He briefly considers moving away from Geno but experience shows that he calms down after a while and there is probably some hockey pride on the line here too. Also he likes sitting close to Geno. It makes him centered in a way he doesn't feel that often around people who are this pink around him. He puts his plate on the coffee table when he has finished, leaning back into the couch with a satisfied sound. 

“Good?” Geno asks, sounding amused as he leans forward to put his plate on Sidney's.  
“I should be asking that, I cooked after all. You just sat there doing nothing.” Sidney answers, too lazy and full to really bother with the chirping, his headache finally having gone away.  
He closes his eyes, letting the sound of the game and Geno's soft answering laugh wash over him as he dozes off for a bit. At least until Geno suddenly punches his shoulder again. Sidney startles and there is quick shot of guilty green from Geno and a big hand pressing him back into the couch.

“Sorry, didn't mean to wake. Keep sleeping Sid.”

Sidney blinks, feeling a bit disorientated. So close after waking up everybody's emotions always  
seemed so much clearer, so much brighter, more there. Sidney can see the blue and gold on Geno under the green, already slowly fading away, can see the way the gold has calmed down to a soft, constant flow wandering from Geno's forehead down to his right hand, while the blue is lazily creating irregular patterns on his cheeks. Most emotions seemed to be focused on the facial area, only wandering if they have been there for some time, which would probably means something but Sidney has never quite figured out what exactly and the psychology books he had tried hadn't been much help either. 

Geno is still focused on the game so Sidney takes some time to watch him. He doesn't do this often. It's not that smart to have people catch him staring at seemingly random parts of their faces. Though really, if they could just see they way they sometimes looked, bright and shining, vibrating with rainbows of emotions, they probably wouldn't blame him. The pink hasn't left Geno either, settling as soft spots on his throat that look like weirdly colored freckles and Sidney has to hold back a laugh, which is better than the slight sting he feels at the sign of them. 

There had always been more than just a shade of pink softly floating around Geno when he was with Sidney, but there had never been any sign that Geno would want anything more than just what they are currently doing. 

It reminds Sidney of one guy on his hockey team when he was fifteen. He had also turned pink every time he had seen Sidney and Sidney had been naive and young and had probably looked like somebody had poured a bucket of pink color over his head, as well. But when he had tried to bring it up and maybe suggest seeing a movie or something like that he'd been met with a disdainful look and an answer that had made him flinch with its vitriol. 

It was the first time since he had turned thirteen and from one day to another people had just started shining that he really realized that what people felt wasn't necessarily also what they wanted to feel or even act on.

He still can't help the pang of sadness though whenever he sees Geno lighting up with his particular mix of pink-gold-blue around him. No doubt there'd be wild strokes of blurred gray, reaching from his eyes down to his stomach, if he could see his own emotions as clearly as those of the people around him. 

But he can't and he sometimes wonders if it would make things easier, to have that connection between the wants in his head and those of his emotions. Probably not, but it's still a nice thought to have.

“Okay? Look sad?” There is a hand on his shoulder and Sidney realizes that he had been gazing into space. 

“Uh, yes, I was just...” he is saved by the sound of the door bell and Geno only frowns at him for a moment before standing up. There is a conversation Sidney can't hear and he is also not that interested in either. Geno will get rid of whoever is there anyway and then he'll come back and Sidney can pretend to at least pay some attention to the rest of the game.

This train of thought is probably why Sidney is surprised to suddenly see Geno coming back, followed by a guy he hasn't seen before. He moves to stand up but Geno makes a gesture so Sidney stays put. “Don't worry, here to fix kitchen sink,” Geno says. “Forget he was coming,” he then adds, sounding sheepish. Sidney nods, opening his mouth to greet the guy when he got a closer look at him and wow. 

The guy is a snowstorm of hate. Sidney has to keep from flinching back, closing his mouth and just nodding at him as the man makes his way to the kitchen with Geno. It isn't like Sidney hasn't seen people who hated him or Geno before, he had played Philly after all last night. But during hockey the white flickering, a distortion sticking to the eyes so dense it was sometimes hard to make out their pupils, was mixed with the radiant red of determination, the silver sparks of pure excitement and joyful blue. In the guy's case though, there is only white and not everything is about hockey.

So much white. Sidney suddenly feels himself shivering. Before he even realizes himself he is suddenly standing. Geno and the guy are in the kitchen and Sidney can't see them anymore and he really doesn't want to leave Geno alone with this guy. With jerky movements he grabs the plates from the table, holding them a bit too close to his chest as he makes his way into the kitchen. Geno looks up from the sink he was leaning over, looking surprised at Sidney before noticing the plates.

“Could have waited, can watch game,” he then says and Sidney frowns as he puts the plates down, watching they guy who was doing something to the faucet out of the corner of his eyes. “Uh, it's okay, I'll just … I'll make some tea. You want some?” It's a good excuse, at least that's what Sidney likes to think. However the dark yellow shows him that Geno isn't buying it completely.

He still nods and Sidney gets to work, drawing out the process as long as he can. Sadly though fixing whatever the hell is wrong with Geno's sink takes a bit longer than making tea and so Sidney is forced to stand around, looking like an idiot with the mug of tea in his hand. He can see that Geno is getting more and more confused about the way he is behaving, slight brown mixing with the dark yellow now.

“You know, I should probably stay and watch so I'll know what to do at my own house,” Sidney blurts out when he sees Geno opening his mouth to say something. It earns him an even more confused frown but at least Geno doesn't say anything as Sidney leans against the kitchen counter.

The guy repairing the sink in the meanwhile hasn't said anything at that, eyes fixed on the task in front of him, not looking at either him or Geno. The concentrating doesn't take any away of blinding white that is his hate, it even seems to get worse with every passing second Sidney and Geno are standing there. It makes Sidney nervous, makes him want to come up with a stupid excuse for pulling Geno out of the kitchen and away from the man when the guy suddenly stands up.

“That would be all,” he says not looking at either one of them. Geno smiles at him. “Yes, thank you, is quick work!” “Yeah. Good game yesterday by the way,” he says in a way that makes it sound like he thinks it was everything but that. There is a moment of silence in the kitchen, Geno looking confused and then the guy does finally look up. “Naturally Philly is going to win next time,” and he might try to make it sound like a joke but it comes of as snapping and bitter and oh, well, Sidney suddenly feels very stupid. Maybe everything really is about hockey.

And maybe he should remember that just because he can see what people feel he certainly doesn't know why they are feeling it. Geno thankfully takes over the act of quickly ushering the angry Flyers fan out of his house while staying semi polite as he does it. He closes the door and then looks at Sidney who is standing in the hallway, not sure if he should feel embarrassed or relieved. 

“So,” Geno says, “Have secret knowledge of who is Flyer fan? And need to torture them?” Definitely embarrassment. “No, it was just … you know he kind of looked angry, you know?” Sidney mumbles. Geno eyes him, expression unimpressed. “So you think you need to protect? From guy who doesn't even weight half as much as me?” 

Putting it this way it really sounds ridiculous. The guy hadn't even reach to Geno's chin. Still, Sidney suddenly feels the need to defend himself. “He could have tried to hit you with his wrench!” Geno now just looks pitying. Sidney sighs. 

“Okay, I acted weird. Let's just forget it, okay?” There is something calculating in Geno's expression but he just nods and they go back to sitting on the couch. At least they both got some tea out of it and now Sidney can pretend this has never happened. And remember to tone down his reactions to the emotions of people around him because he really can't know why they are feeling them. Or what they want to do with them. 

Something tingles in the back of his head at that thought and then Geno is casually putting his hand over Sidney's shoulder, pulling him a bit closer to him, closer to the pink that somehow hasn't gone away even after whatever Geno thinks Sidney was pulling back there in the kitchen.

And well. Maybe.

“You know,” Sidney says and he stares into his mug, because he does not want to see the colors this will inspire, “I was so weird back there because I don't want anything happening to you.” Geno makes a humming sound, his chest vibrating slightly. Probably laughing at him. Sidney will have to power through this quicker before he loses the bravery or more precisely stupidity that made him start this in the first place.

“And I don't want anything to happen to you cause I like you,” it comes out faster than it probably should. Sidney feels Geno suddenly tensing next to him. “Not as a friend,” Sidney adds, just to get his point across and to dug his grave even deeper. “I mean also as a friend. Cause you're my friend. But you're also a bit more than a friend. To me at least. And I don't...” 

He is interrupted by Geno making a wild noise and pulling him close to clash their lips together. He tastes like the tea they were drinking and Sidney wants to close his eyes and lose himself in the kiss but he'd miss the firework of blue and gold and pink, so much damn, wonderful pink, that Geno is. 

It's the most beautiful thing Sidney has ever seen and he wants to see it for the rest of his life. Geno breaks the kiss when they both run out of air, but stays close to Sidney's lips. “Should have said earlier,” he mumbles. “Didn't know, wasn't sure, thought you might not...” he trails off and Sidney smiles at him, because he had known and it still hadn't been enough. “Sorry. Took some time. Can we kiss again?” Until now. And Geno kisses him again. Blue and gold and pink and perfect.


End file.
